Working with CSA

Ross M. Blankinship

Principal Engineer, Active Systems and Control Lead

Control Systems · Adaptive Optics - Wavefront and Jitter Control · 
Active Systems
Mr. Blankinship has 30 years of experience in control system design and analysis. In the Air Force, he analyzed inertial navigation systems at the Central Inertial Guidance Test Facility at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. In 16 years at Lockheed-Martin, he was lead controls engineer for several BMDO and SDIO programs and was responsible for design and analysis of wavefront and jitter control systems. As a member of the team composed of Lockheed, Honeywell, and CSA Engineering he designed the structural control system for the Space Integrated Controls Experiment (SPICE) at the Phillips Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. He designed and analyzed the beam and isolation control systems in the concept development phase of the Airborne Laser program. His effort in the Alpha-Lamp Integration program was key to successful demonstration of closed-loop control of a high-energy laser beam at the TRW Capistrano Test Site, California. He continues to support the Airborne Laser and Space-Based Laser programs, the PowerSail program at AFRL, as well as research into active isolation systems.

Mr. Blankinship received his B.S. in Astronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy.

Conor D. Johnson

Principal Engineer

Vibration Suppression Technologies and Applications · Contract and Technical Management
Dr. Johnson co-founded CSA Engineering and has overall management responsibility for the company operation and technical and contract responsibility for specific projects. He is responsible for leading and directing research, development, and applications in the field of vibration suppression. Dr. Johnson has been a leader in the development, design, analysis, and application of passive vibration suppression. He was instrumental in the development of the modal strain energy method for finite element design of damping treatments. He has designed damping and isolation systems for a large number of structures in the aircraft, space, marine, automobile, electronics, and commercial industries. He has been fundamental in the development of whole-spacecraft vibration and shock isolation. Dr. Johnson is an author of over 40 technical papers and numerous technical reports. He holds four patents. He has taught various topics at ten short courses, is a member of three technical societies and a Registered Professional Engineer. He has been Technical Director and Chairman of five major conferences and is a member of the ASME Adaptive Structures and AIAA Structural Dynamics technical committees and the advisory board for the ESM Department at VPI&SU.

Dr. Johnson received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Engineering Mechanics from Clemson University. He earned his B.S. in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

David A. Kienholz

Principal Engineer

Structural Dynamics · Experimental Methods · Product Development
Dr. Kienholz co-founded CSA Engineering. He supports numerous projects in the areas of structural dynamics, vibrations, experimental methods, and motion control. He routinely has responsibility for projects involving product and system development, dynamic testing, troubleshooting, and vibration suppression. He was a co-developer of the Modal Strain Energy method now used throughout aerospace and other industries for analytical design of integrally damped structures. He has taught university and private courses on vibration and dynamic testing. He designed and led the development of a magnetically damped passive isolation system now in use for Space Shuttle science payloads. He invented and led the development of a unique suspension system for simulating zero-gravity conditions in dynamic testing. That work received the 1995 Space Simulation Award from the Institute for Environmental Sciences and was recognized in 1996 as an Air Force SBIR Success Story. Dr. Kienholz was the principal investigator in the development of several advanced vibration isolation systems, both passive and active, including the Airborne Stabilization/Vibration Isolation System (AS/VIS) and the Optical Bench Isolation System (OBIS), both for the Airborne Laser program. Dr. Kienholz is the author or coauthor of over 20 technical papers and holds four patents. He is a member of the ASME and SAE.

Dr. Kienholz received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. He earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University.

Paul S. Wilke

Principal Engineer

Vibration Damping / Isolation Design · Structural Dynamics Analysis · Finite Element Methods
Mr. Wilke is head of CSA’s launch vibration isolation group focusing on whole-spacecraft vibration and shock isolation for several launch vehicles and spacecraft. He has successfully completed six isolation flight-hardware programs and is currently developing vibration and shock isolation system hardware for several launch vehicles. Mr. Wilke has received three United States patents in the area of whole-spacecraft vibration and shock isolation. He has extensive experience in finite element modeling, coupled loads analysis, passive damping and isolation design, and isolation hardware design and testing. Mr. Wilke is the co-author of 22 technical papers on passive damping and isolation and is a member of AIAA and ASME.

Mr. Wilke earned his M.S. in Engineering Mechanics from Santa Clara University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University.

Bradley R. Allen

Associate Principal Engineer, Test Group Lead

Experimental Methods · Dynamic Testing · Vibration Suppression Design

Mr. Allen leads the dynamic testing group in Mountain View. He regularly manages and performs dynamic testing, experiment design, and diagnostic testing services at CSA Engineering. Mr. Allen is responsible for directing efforts on dynamic tests in the field and at CSA’s facilities, on vibration isolation and damping design projects, and on many commercial diagnostic or design efforts. Mr. Allen designed CSA’s viscoelastic material test system and is a lead engineer in designs using polymer or specialty materials at CSA. Mr. Allen also specializes in shock testing and design. Analytical codes written by Mr. Allen include simulations of chatter in polishing systems, codes to predict machine positioning error due to floor vibration, and stability and error rejection predictions for single and multivariable control systems. Mr. Allen’s graduate work at Santa Clara specialized in dynamics and controls.

Mr. Allen received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Santa Clara University and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.

Roger M. Glaese

Associate Principal Engineer

Structural Analysis · Control System Design · Vibroacoustics · Active Systems
Dr. Glaese is responsible for modeling, analysis and design of structures, control systems, and their interaction. He is experienced in advanced finite element techniques for structural modeling and in modern control system synthesis. He has developed models and techniques for vibroacoustic control and has demonstrated these methods on several sets of hardware. He has created control design models for a space flight experiment and implemented various optimal control algorithms on terrestrial systems using DSP’s. Dr. Glaese has analyzed gossamer and membrane structures and the effects of gravity on the response of highly flexible structures. He has co-authored more than 25 papers in the fields of structural analysis, structural control, and active structural acoustics. He is a Senior Member of AIAA and member of the ASME and the Acoustical Society of America.

Dr. Glaese received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

James C. Goodding

Associate Principal Engineer, Test Group Lead

Dynamic Testing · Structural Dynamics &Vibration · Modal Testing · Structural Modeling and Identification
Mr. Goodding leads CSA’s test activities in New Mexico and has supported numerous Air Force, BMDO and Sandia National Laboratory structural dynamic testing programs. For Sandia, he has performed work on damage detection, wind turbine fatigue, satellite sensors, flight qualification tests, and general dynamic and modal testing. Mr. Goodding was the test director, and performed two large-scale modal tests in support of the SPICE program at Kirtland AFB, which demonstrated an unprecedented 100-to-1 attenuation in far-field line-of-sight jitter. He has performed structural dynamic tests, in-flight tests, and component modal tests on the Argus KC-135 aircraft photo-documentation system, ABLE ACE, and HABE. He is an experienced user of LMS Cada-X data acquisition and modal parameter estimation software, Matlab and Data Acquisition Toolbox, and I-Deas test analysis software.

Mr. Goodding earned an M.S. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at the University of Illinois and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.

Paul C. Janzen

Associate Principal Engineer

Software · DSP and Embedded Control · Active Systems · Acoustics
Mr. Janzen is lead engineer at CSA in embedded control and software for real-time control of physical systems. In this role he has designed and produced multiple systems for customers in aerospace, automotive, semiconductor manufacturing and telecom applications. He was recently responsible for a large hexapod system controlled from extensive software and an electronic subsystem. He is conversant in a large number of programming languages and is experienced in matching the appropriate language to a given platform and use. With a strong background in acoustics, he has performed structural and acoustic analysis for manufacturing equipment, noise control of launch vehicle fairings and active control of acoustically-induced jitter in optical systems. Mr. Janzen is experienced in a number of engineering analysis packages, including I-DEAS, Patran, Nastran, Matlab, Autocad, Comet/Acoustics, Sysnoise, and is experienced in several computer languages and operating systems.

Mr. Janzen received his M.S. in Acoustics from Pennsylvania State University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas.

Raman S. Johal

Associate Principal Engineer, Analysis Group Lead

Coupled Loads Analysis · Vibration Isolation · Finite Element Analysis
The analysis, design, and optimization of spacecraft isolation systems are Mr. Johal’s main responsibilities. He is currently involved in the development of whole-spacecraft isolation systems for single and multiple spacecraft on small and medium launch vehicles. His experience also includes the finite element modeling and analysis of space structures, including a Russian module for the International Space Station and several payloads launched on the Space Shuttle. Mr. Johal was the lead dynamicist for a team that designed and built a satellite bus simulator. He also has performed trade studies for several theoretical damping formulations for Space Shuttle components. Mr. Johal is proficient in NASTRAN and DMAP and he has used this to create Craig-Bampton reduced math models and data recovery matrices. He is proficient in the use of I-DEAS FEM and Test packages and he is also knowledgeable in the use of MATLAB. Mr. Johal is a member of AIAA.

Mr. Johal received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University.

Joseph R. Maly

Associate Principal Engineer

Vibration Damping / Isolation Design · Structural Dynamics Analysis · Test / Analysis Correlation · Viscoelastic Materials
Mr. Maly leads development of passive damping and isolation systems at CSA, specializing in designs with viscoelastic materials and applications of finite element analysis. Experienced in both analytical and experimental methods of structural dynamics, Mr. Maly has built vibration suppression into space structures, aircraft, medical equipment, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. He managed development of the solar array dampers for Hubble Space Telescope and the ARGUS airborne optical system. He has designed numerous tuned-mass dampers, including a magnetic damper for the F/A-18 vertical tail and a 350-lb damper for a multi-ton optical system. He has performed complex stiffness tests of isolators and viscoelastic systems for correlation with analytical models. Mr. Maly is product area lead for payload adapters.

Mr. Maly received an M.S. in Applied Mechanics from Stanford University and a B.S. in  Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.

Scott C. Pendleton

Associate Principal Engineer, Design Group Lead

Space Flight Hardware · Magnetic Circuit Design · Vibration Suppression Design / Testing · Product Development
Mr. Pendleton is experienced in the design, analysis, and testing of vibration suppression technologies for structures relating to aircraft, spacecraft, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Mr. Pendleton's expertise is in mechanical design that includes viscous and magnetic eddy current tuned-mass dampers, piezoelectric actuators for active vibration isolation, and viscoelastic shear damping technologies. Mr. Pendleton has been with CSA Engineering since 1992 and has become a valuable member to many flight hardware programs within the company. He manages several programs including the development of flight hardware launch isolation systems for attenuating high frequency shock loads to small and medium size payloads. Some of his most notable efforts include work performed as the lead designer for a solar array damper installed into the Hubble Space Telescope in March 2002, on Servicing Mission 3B, whole spacecraft isolation systems for ground dynamic interaction testing, tuned mass dampers for launch vibration attenuation at the crew seat, and tuned mass dampers for attenuating jitter on optical equipment installed in an aircraft. Mr. Pendleton has authored or coauthored 14 technical papers and is a member of AIAA and SEM.

Mr. Pendleton received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from San Jose State University.

Eric M. Austin

Senior Engineer, Design & Analysis Group Lead

Engineering Mechanics · Vibration Damping · Structural Analysis · Modeling of Viscoelasticity · Finite Element Techniques
Dr. Austin has 27 years of experience in structural mechanics and finite element analysis. He worked at CSA Engineering from 1982–1993 before returning to graduate school at Virginia Tech and teaching for eight years in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Clemson University. He rejoined CSA in May 2008 to lead the Design and Analysis Group at the Albuquerque Office. At Clemson, Dr. Austin taught all of the required courses in the undergraduate ME curriculum (except thermal-fluids and some labs) as well as graduate vibrations and dynamics. Dr. Austin is a Registered Professional Engineer, a senior member of AIAA, and a member of ASME.

Dr. Austin received his Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech in 1998. He earned a B.S. in General Engineering and an M.S. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 1980 and 1981, respectively.

Leslie P. Chrzan

Senior Engineer

Active Systems · Control Systems Design · Precision Motion Control · Real-Time Prototyping
Ms. Chrzan is responsible for control system design, modeling, and real-time experimental control system prototyping. Most recently she has developed adaptive feedforward control systems for jitter rejection in optical systems including those on the Airborne Laser. She has experience with active feedforward vibration control for time-periodic systems, specifically minimization of aeroelastic disturbances on helicopter rotor blades, and offline and adaptive real-time system identification techniques for optimal actuator/sensor placement. In 7 years at Lord Corp, Ms. Chrzan led the development of active and semi-active control system designs for semiconductor, precision isolation and motion control applications. Her most recent roles at Lord included Program Manager and Chief Engineer for the Lift Fan Shaft Monitoring System on the Joint Strike Fighter. Ms. Chrzan is co-author of a dozen papers, inventor on 3 patents, a Licensed Professional Engineer, and an IEEE Senior Member. She has expertise in MATLAB, dSPACE, xPC Target, and ANSYS.

Ms. Chrzan received her M.S. and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Peter E. Devlin

Senior Engineer

Active Systems Development · Dynamic Simulation · Control Systems
Mr. Devlin is experienced in systems modeling, control system implementation, and actuator development.  He has developed hydraulic and electromechanical automotive actuators and the associated inner loop controls. Most recently he was technical lead for the Ares launch vehicle active vibration control system.  Previously, he led the systems modeling activity for an automatic transmission engineering organization.  Mr. Devlin has expertise in a number of engineering software packages including AMESim and MATLAB. Mr. Devlin is co-inventor on a patent for a torsional vibration damper used inside automatic transmissions.

Mr. Devlin received an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from General Motors Institute.

Michael E. Evert

Senior Engineer

Active Systems · Electromechanical Devices · Vibration Suppression · Product Development · Mechanical Design
Mr. Evert’s primary responsibilities involve development of new concepts for mechanical and electromechanical systems, and translation of those concepts into detailed designs and physical hardware. He has been responsible for design and integration of space flight hardware and systems for ground test of space flight components in addition to several of CSAs hexapod products. He is also product manager and lead engineer for CSAs SA series electromagnetic actuator product line. Mr. Evert designed several compact actuators for vibration cancellation. He designed and qualified a large facility level (200 tons+) optical bench for use in vacuum testing of space flight systems. He performed pneumatic and mechanical integration of a large-scale active-passive isolation/suspension system for airborne applications. He has experience in mechanical design, finite element modeling, and numerous CAD software packages.

Mr. Evert received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado

Bryce L. Fowler

Senior Engineer

Engineering Software · Structural Analysis · VEM Characterization · Structural Optimization
Mr. Fowler is trained as a mechanical engineer and has acquired extensive software skills. He has engaged in basic research on characterization of viscoelastic materials and has written software for characterization and database management of these materials. He has performed finite element analysis on diverse problems, from an implantable mechanical medical device to airframe structures. He has written programs on many different platforms, operating systems, and programming languages, including programs for graphic display, data conversion, and numerical analysis. He is experienced in real time control using DSPs and VME processors running VxWorks. He has written and co-authored 10 professional papers on passive damping. Mr. Fowler is a member of ASME.

Mr. Fowler received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Bernie R. Jahn

Senior Engineer

Engineering Mechanics · Mechanical Design · Motion Control
Dr. Jahn has experience in design, analysis, simulation, and testing of systems developed for motion simulation, vibration suppression, and autonomous vehicle-mounted measurement operations. He has been the lead engineer on systems including a multi-axis high performance isolation system supporting an optical payload, a 6-DOF satellite motion simulator, custom integrated electromagnetic servovalve, autonomous vehicle-mounted measurement systems, as well as a hydraulic/pneumatic ground penetrating radar carrier for minesweeping operations. In addition, he has experience in DSP, control systems, dynamic analyses, and signal processing techniques including wavelet analysis. Dr. Jahn is the product lead for CSA’s custom frictionless isolators and actuators.

Dr. Jahn received his Ph.D. in Engineering specializing in Mechatronics from the University of California-Davis. He earned a M.S. and B.S. in Engineering from South Dakota State University.

Paul J. Keas

Senior Engineer, Active Systems and Control Lead

Dynamic Simulation · Control Systems · Software Development · Flight Test Systems
Mr. Keas is experienced in systems modeling, system identification, control system design, software development and embedded systems. He supports the integration and test of control systems for aircraft instrumentation and flight experiments. He is currently providing levitation control system design and testing for a maglev train prototype vehicle, analysis and design of a semi-active launch-vehicle vibration isolation system, and integrated system modeling, testing, and pointing control improvement for an airborne reconnaissance sensor program. He has responsibilities related to jitter control for NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Previously on SOFIA, he had responsibility for control system, dynamic testing and damping evaluation and participated in wind tunnel testing. He developed models for the NASA Vertical Motion Simulator. Previously, he developed a simulator for rapid prototyping of heads-up display guidance control laws and symbology and flight tested optical sensor control systems for NASA DC8 atmospheric research.

Mr. Keas received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Santa Clara University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

John W. Wanless

Operations Manager

Manufacturing Systems · Electrical Power · Technical Management
Mr. Wanless has broad experience in engineering management including machining, nuclear power plant design, radiation detection, and steel mill construction.  His design experience includes electrical power systems, short circuit analysis, electrical control schematics, electrical cable specification, grounding and lightning protection systems, power plant equipment and materials qualification, and radiation monitoring devices.  He has written several FORTRAN programs including ones for cable and conduit routing, voltage drop, and lighting. He has served on IEEE and industry committees investigating the effects of radiation and aging on power plant electrical equipment. Most recently, Mr. Wanless has focused on quality assurance and manufacturing operations. Mr. Wanless is a member of IEEE, ASQ (CQMgr), and APICS(CPIM).

Mr. Wanless received his MBA from the University of North Florida and his BEE from Manhattan College.